Social-based optimization of web crawling for online social networks

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a method includes identifying, by a search engine of an online social network, web domains external to the online social network. The method includes accessing domain-quality signals associated with each web domain. At least one of the domain-quality signals includes a measure of activations of social plug-ins of the online social network available on webpages of each web domain, a social plug-in being an executable script providing an activable user-interface element for interacting with the online social network from the webpage. The method includes calculating, for each web domain, a domain ranking based at least in part on the domain-quality signals associated with the web domain. The method includes identifying, by the search engine, some of the web domains as low-quality web domains to avoid accessing based at least in part on the domain rankings of the web domains not satisfying a threshold domain ranking.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/533,229, filed 5 Nov. 2014.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to search-engine web crawling inassociation with online social networks.

BACKGROUND

A social-networking system, which may include a social-networkingwebsite, may enable its users (such as persons or organizations) tointeract with it and with each other through it. The social-networkingsystem may, with input from a user, create and store in thesocial-networking system a user profile associated with the user. Theuser profile may include demographic information, communication-channelinformation, and information on personal interests of the user. Thesocial-networking system may also, with input from a user, create andstore a record of relationships of the user with other users of thesocial-networking system, as well as provide services (e.g. wall posts,photo-sharing, event organization, messaging, games, or advertisements)to facilitate social interaction between or among users.

The social-networking system may send over one or more networks contentor messages related to its services to a mobile or other computingdevice of a user. A user may also install software applications on amobile or other computing device of the user for accessing a userprofile of the user and other data within the social-networking system.The social-networking system may generate a personalized set of contentobjects to display to a user, such as a newsfeed of aggregated storiesof other users connected to the user.

Social-graph analysis views social relationships in terms of networktheory consisting of nodes and edges. Nodes represent the individualusers within the networks, and edges represent the relationships betweenthe users. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex.In its simplest form, a social graph is a map of all of the relevantedges between all the nodes being studied.

SUMMARY OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

In particular embodiments, search-engine web crawling may be optimizedby ranking web domains based at least on a variety of domain-qualitysignals. In particular embodiments, the domain-quality signals may beunique to a social-networking system. In particular embodiments, thesocial-networking system may determine whether a search engineassociated with the social-networking system may crawl one or morewebpages within a web domain based at least on one or moredomain-quality signals associated with the web domain and collected bythe social-networking system. As an example and not by way oflimitation, one or more of the domain-quality signals may indicatewhether the web domain includes content that is reliable, fresh, and/orappealing to users of the online social network.

In particular embodiments, the domain-quality signals may be used tocalculate domain rankings for web domains. The domain-rankings may beused to identify low-quality web domains. In particular embodiments, thesearch engine may de-prioritize webpages within the low-quality webdomains for web crawling. In contrast, the domain-rankings may also beused to identify high-quality web domains. In particular embodiments,the search engine may prioritize webpages within the high-quality webdomains for crawling and indexing. In particular embodiments, domainrankings may be calculated for one or more web domains comprisingdomains, sub-domains, or directories within these. In particularembodiments, the search engine may focus its time and resources oncrawling through webpages within high-quality web domains for content tobe retrieved in search results.

The embodiments disclosed above are only examples, and the scope of thisdisclosure is not limited to them. Particular embodiments may includeall, some, or none of the components, elements, features, functions,operations, or steps of the embodiments disclosed above. Embodimentsaccording to the invention are in particular disclosed in the attachedclaims directed to a method, a storage medium, a system and a computerprogram product, wherein any feature mentioned in one claim category,e.g. method, can be claimed in another claim category, e.g. system, aswell. The dependencies or references back in the attached claims arechosen for formal reasons only. However any subject matter resultingfrom a deliberate reference back to any previous claims (in particularmultiple dependencies) can be claimed as well, so that any combinationof claims and the features thereof are disclosed and can be claimedregardless of the dependencies chosen in the attached claims. Thesubject-matter which can be claimed comprises not only the combinationsof features as set out in the attached claims but also any othercombination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned inthe claims can be combined with any other feature or combination ofother features in the claims. Furthermore, any of the embodiments andfeatures described or depicted herein can be claimed in a separate claimand/or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described ordepicted herein or with any of the features of the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment associated with asocial-networking system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example social graph.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example web crawling.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example historical ranking data for web crawlingof FIG. 3.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example domain ranking table for web crawling ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method for web crawling.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example computer system.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

System Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 associated with asocial-networking system. Network environment 100 includes a clientsystem 130, a social-networking system 160, and a third-party system 170connected to each other by a network 110. Although FIG. 1 illustrates aparticular arrangement of client system 130, social-networking system160, third-party system 170, and network 110, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable arrangement of client system 130,social-networking system 160, third-party system 170, and network 110.As an example and not by way of limitation, two or more of client system130, social-networking system 160, and third-party system 170 may beconnected to each other directly, bypassing network 110. As anotherexample, two or more of client system 130, social-networking system 160,and third-party system 170 may be physically or logically co-locatedwith each other in whole or in part. Moreover, although FIG. 1illustrates a particular number of client systems 130, social-networkingsystems 160, third-party systems 170, and networks 110, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable number of client systems 130,social-networking systems 160, third-party systems 170, and networks110. As an example and not by way of limitation, network environment 100may include multiple client system 130, social-networking systems 160,third-party systems 170, and networks 110.

This disclosure contemplates any suitable network 110. As an example andnot by way of limitation, one or more portions of network 110 mayinclude an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, or a combinationof two or more of these. Network 110 may include one or more networks110.

Links 150 may connect client system 130, social-networking system 160,and third-party system 170 to communication network 110 or to eachother. This disclosure contemplates any suitable links 150. Inparticular embodiments, one or more links 150 include one or morewireline (such as for example Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or Data OverCable Service Interface Specification (DOC SIS)), wireless (such as forexample Wi-Fi or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX)), or optical (such as for example Synchronous Optical Network(SONET) or Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)) links. In particularembodiments, one or more links 150 each include an ad hoc network, anintranet, an extranet, a VPN, a LAN, a WLAN, a WAN, a WWAN, a MAN, aportion of the Internet, a portion of the PSTN, a cellulartechnology-based network, a satellite communications technology-basednetwork, another link 150, or a combination of two or more such links150. Links 150 need not necessarily be the same throughout networkenvironment 100. One or more first links 150 may differ in one or morerespects from one or more second links 150.

In particular embodiments, client system 130 may be an electronic deviceincluding hardware, software, or embedded logic components or acombination of two or more such components and capable of carrying outthe appropriate functionalities implemented or supported by clientsystem 130. As an example and not by way of limitation, a client system130 may include a computer system such as a desktop computer, notebookor laptop computer, netbook, a tablet computer, e-book reader, GPSdevice, camera, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld electronicdevice, cellular telephone, smartphone, other suitable electronicdevice, or any suitable combination thereof. This disclosurecontemplates any suitable client systems 130. A client system 130 mayenable a network user at client system 130 to access network 110. Aclient system 130 may enable its user to communicate with other users atother client systems 130.

In particular embodiments, client system 130 may include a web browser132, such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, GOOGLE CHROME or MOZILLAFIREFOX, and may have one or more add-ons, plug-ins, or otherextensions, such as TOOLBAR or YAHOO TOOLBAR. A user at client system130 may enter a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or other addressdirecting the web browser 132 to a particular server (such as server162, or a server associated with a third-party system 170), and the webbrowser 132 may generate a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requestand communicate the HTTP request to server. The server may accept theHTTP request and communicate to client system 130 one or more Hyper TextMarkup Language (HTML) files responsive to the HTTP request. Clientsystem 130 may render a webpage based on the HTML files from the serverfor presentation to the user. This disclosure contemplates any suitablepage files, including webpages or pages presented as a user interface ofa native application. As an example and not by way of limitation,webpages may render from HTML files, Extensible Hyper Text MarkupLanguage (XHTML) files, or Extensible Markup Language (XML) files,according to particular needs. Such pages may also execute scripts suchas, for example and without limitation, those written in JAVASCRIPT,JAVA, MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT, combinations of markup language and scriptssuch as AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCRIPT and XML), and the like. Herein,reference to a webpage encompasses one or more corresponding webpagefiles (which a browser may use to render the webpage) and vice versa,where appropriate.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may be anetwork-addressable computing system that can host an online socialnetwork. Social-networking system 160 may generate, store, receive, andsend social-networking data, such as, for example, user-profile data,concept-profile data, social-graph information, or other suitable datarelated to the online social network. Social-networking system 160 maybe accessed by the other components of network environment 100 eitherdirectly or via network 110. As an example and not by way of limitation,client system 130 may access social-networking system 160 using a webbrowser 132, or a native application associated with social-networkingsystem 160 (e.g., a mobile social-networking application, a messagingapplication, another suitable application, or any combination thereof)either directly or via network 110. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may include one or more servers 162. Eachserver 162 may be a unitary server or a distributed server spanningmultiple computers or multiple datacenters. Servers 162 may be ofvarious types, such as, for example and without limitation, web server,news server, mail server, message server, advertising server, fileserver, application server, exchange server, database server, proxyserver, another server suitable for performing functions or processesdescribed herein, or any combination thereof. In particular embodiments,each server 162 may include hardware, software, or embedded logiccomponents or a combination of two or more such components for carryingout the appropriate functionalities implemented or supported by server162. In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may includeone or more data stores 164. Data stores 164 may be used to storevarious types of information. In particular embodiments, the informationstored in data stores 164 may be organized according to specific datastructures. In particular embodiments, each data store 164 may be arelational database. Particular embodiments may provide interfaces thatenable a client system 130, a social-networking system 160, or athird-party system 170 to manage, retrieve, modify, add, or delete, theinformation stored in data store 164.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may store one ormore social graphs in one or more data stores 164. In particularembodiments, a social graph may include multiple nodes—which may includemultiple user nodes (each corresponding to a particular user) ormultiple concept nodes (each corresponding to a particular concept)—andmultiple edges connecting the nodes. Social-networking system 160 mayprovide users of the online social network the ability to communicateand interact with other users. In particular embodiments, users may jointhe online social network via social-networking system 160 and then addconnections (i.e., relationships) to a number of other users ofsocial-networking system 160 whom they want to be connected to. Herein,the term “friend” may refer to any other user of social-networkingsystem 160 with whom a user has formed a connection, association, orrelationship via social-networking system 160.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may provideusers with the ability to take actions on various types of items orobjects, supported by social-networking system 160. As an example andnot by way of limitation, the items and objects may include groups orsocial networks to which users of social-networking system 160 maybelong, events or calendar entries in which a user might be interested,computer-based applications that a user may use, transactions that allowusers to buy or sell items via the service, interactions withadvertisements that a user may perform, or other suitable items orobjects. A user may interact with anything that is capable of beingrepresented in social-networking system 160 or by an external system ofthird-party system 170, which is separate from social-networking system160 and coupled to social-networking system 160 via a network 110.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may be capableof linking a variety of entities. As an example and not by way oflimitation, social-networking system 160 may enable users to interactwith each other as well as receive content from third-party systems 170or other entities, or to allow users to interact with these entitiesthrough an application programming interfaces (API) or othercommunication channels.

In particular embodiments, a third-party system 170 may include one ormore types of servers, one or more data stores, one or more interfaces,including but not limited to APIs, one or more web services, one or morecontent sources, one or more networks, or any other suitable components,e.g., that servers may communicate with. A third-party system 170 may beoperated by a different entity from an entity operatingsocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, however,social-networking system 160 and third-party systems 170 may operate inconjunction with each other to provide social-networking services tousers of social-networking system 160 or third-party systems 170. Inthis sense, social-networking system 160 may provide a platform, orbackbone, which other systems, such as third-party systems 170, may useto provide social-networking services and functionality to users acrossthe Internet.

In particular embodiments, a third-party system 170 may include athird-party content object provider. A third-party content objectprovider may include one or more sources of content objects, which maybe communicated to a client system 130. As an example and not by way oflimitation, content objects may include information regarding things oractivities of interest to the user, such as, for example, movie showtimes, movie reviews, restaurant reviews, restaurant menus, productinformation and reviews, or other suitable information. As anotherexample and not by way of limitation, content objects may includeincentive content objects, such as coupons, discount tickets, giftcertificates, or other suitable incentive objects.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 also includesuser-generated content objects, which may enhance a user's interactionswith social-networking system 160. User-generated content may includeanything a user can add, upload, send, or “post” to social-networkingsystem 160. As an example and not by way of limitation, a usercommunicates posts to social-networking system 160 from a client system130. Posts may include data such as status updates or other textualdata, location information, photos, videos, links, music or othersimilar data or media. Content may also be added to social-networkingsystem 160 by a third-party through a “communication channel,” such as anewsfeed or stream.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may include avariety of servers, sub-systems, programs, modules, logs, and datastores. In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 mayinclude one or more of the following: a web server, action logger,API-request server, relevance-and-ranking engine, content-objectclassifier, notification controller, action log,third-party-content-object-exposure log, inference module,authorization/privacy server, search module, ad-targeting module,user-interface module, user-profile store, connection store, third-partycontent store, or location store. Social-networking system 160 may alsoinclude suitable components such as network interfaces, securitymechanisms, load balancers, failover servers,management-and-network-operations consoles, other suitable components,or any suitable combination thereof. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may include one or more user-profile storesfor storing user profiles. A user profile may include, for example,biographic information, demographic information, behavioral information,social information, or other types of descriptive information, such aswork experience, educational history, hobbies or preferences, interests,affinities, or location. Interest information may include interestsrelated to one or more categories. Categories may be general orspecific. As an example and not by way of limitation, if a user “likes”an article about a brand of shoes the category may be the brand, or thegeneral category of “shoes” or “clothing.” A connection store may beused for storing connection information about users. The connectioninformation may indicate users who have similar or common workexperience, group memberships, hobbies, educational history, or are inany way related or share common attributes. The connection informationmay also include user-defined connections between different users andcontent (both internal and external). A web server may be used forlinking social-networking system 160 to one or more client systems 130or one or more third-party system 170 via network 110. The web servermay include a mail server or other messaging functionality for receivingand routing messages between social-networking system 160 and one ormore client systems 130. An API-request server may allow a third-partysystem 170 to access information from social-networking system 160 bycalling one or more APIs. An action logger may be used to receivecommunications from a web server about a user's actions on or offsocial-networking system 160. In conjunction with the action log, athird-party-content-object log may be maintained of user exposures tothird-party-content objects. A notification controller may provideinformation regarding content objects to a client system 130.Information may be pushed to a client system 130 as notifications, orinformation may be pulled from client system 130 responsive to a requestreceived from client system 130. Authorization servers may be used toenforce one or more privacy settings of the users of social-networkingsystem 160. A privacy setting of a user determines how particularinformation associated with a user can be shared. The authorizationserver may allow users to opt in or opt out of having their actionslogged by social-networking system 160 or shared with other systems(e.g., third-party system 170), such as, for example, by settingappropriate privacy settings. Third-party-content-object stores may beused to store content objects received from third parties, such as athird-party system 170. Location stores may be used for storing locationinformation received from client systems 130 associated with users.Ad-pricing modules may combine social information, the current time,location information, or other suitable information to provide relevantadvertisements, in the form of notifications, to a user.

Social Graphs

FIG. 2 illustrates example social graph 200. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may store one or more social graphs 200 inone or more data stores. In particular embodiments, social graph 200 mayinclude multiple nodes—which may include multiple user nodes 202 ormultiple concept nodes 204—and multiple edges 206 connecting the nodes.Example social graph 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 is shown, for didacticpurposes, in a two-dimensional visual map representation. In particularembodiments, a social-networking system 160, client system 130, orthird-party system 170 may access social graph 200 and relatedsocial-graph information for suitable applications. The nodes and edgesof social graph 200 may be stored as data objects, for example, in adata store (such as a social-graph database). Such a data store mayinclude one or more searchable or queryable indexes of nodes or edges ofsocial graph 200.

In particular embodiments, a user node 202 may correspond to a user ofsocial-networking system 160. As an example and not by way oflimitation, a user may be an individual (human user), an entity (e.g.,an enterprise, business, or third-party application), or a group (e.g.,of individuals or entities) that interacts or communicates with or oversocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, when a userregisters for an account with social-networking system 160,social-networking system 160 may create a user node 202 corresponding tothe user, and store the user node 202 in one or more data stores. Usersand user nodes 202 described herein may, where appropriate, refer toregistered users and user nodes 202 associated with registered users. Inaddition or as an alternative, users and user nodes 202 described hereinmay, where appropriate, refer to users that have not registered withsocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, a user node 202may be associated with information provided by a user or informationgathered by various systems, including social-networking system 160. Asan example and not by way of limitation, a user may provide his or hername, profile picture, contact information, birth date, sex, maritalstatus, family status, employment, education background, preferences,interests, or other demographic information. In particular embodiments,a user node 202 may be associated with one or more data objectscorresponding to information associated with a user. In particularembodiments, a user node 202 may correspond to one or more pages.

In particular embodiments, a concept node 204 may correspond to aconcept. As an example and not by way of limitation, a concept maycorrespond to a place (such as, for example, a movie theater,restaurant, landmark, or city); a website (such as, for example, awebsite associated with social-networking system 160 or a third-partywebsite associated with a web-application server); an entity (such as,for example, a person, business, group, sports team, or celebrity); aresource (such as, for example, an audio file, video file, digitalphoto, text file, structured document, or application) which may belocated within social-networking system 160 or on an external server,such as a web-application server; real or intellectual property (suchas, for example, a sculpture, painting, movie, game, song, idea,photograph, or written work); a game; an activity; an idea or theory;another suitable concept; or two or more such concepts. A concept node204 may be associated with information of a concept provided by a useror information gathered by various systems, including social-networkingsystem 160. As an example and not by way of limitation, information of aconcept may include a name or a title; one or more images (e.g., animage of the cover page of a book); a location (e.g., an address or ageographical location); a website (which may be associated with a URL);contact information (e.g., a phone number or an email address); othersuitable concept information; or any suitable combination of suchinformation. In particular embodiments, a concept node 204 may beassociated with one or more data objects corresponding to informationassociated with concept node 204. In particular embodiments, a conceptnode 204 may correspond to one or more pages.

In particular embodiments, a node in social graph 200 may represent orbe represented by a page (which may be referred to as a “profile page”).Profile pages may be hosted by or accessible to social-networking system160. Profile pages may also be hosted on third-party websites associatedwith a third-party server 170. As an example and not by way oflimitation, a profile page corresponding to a particular externalwebpage may be the particular external webpage and the profile page maycorrespond to a particular concept node 204. Profile pages may beviewable by all or a selected subset of other users. As an example andnot by way of limitation, a user node 202 may have a correspondinguser-profile page in which the corresponding user may add content, makedeclarations, or otherwise express himself or herself. As anotherexample and not by way of limitation, a concept node 204 may have acorresponding concept-profile page in which one or more users may addcontent, make declarations, or express themselves, particularly inrelation to the concept corresponding to concept node 204.

In particular embodiments, a concept node 204 may represent athird-party webpage or resource hosted by a third-party system 170. Thethird-party webpage or resource may include, among other elements,content, a selectable or other icon, or other inter-actable object(which may be implemented, for example, in JavaScript, AJAX, or PHPcode) representing an action or activity. As an example and not by wayof limitation, a third-party webpage may include a selectable icon suchas “like,” “check in,” “eat,” “recommend,” or another suitable action oractivity. A user viewing the third-party webpage may perform an actionby selecting one of the icons (e.g., “eat”), causing a client system 130to send to social-networking system 160 a message indicating the user'saction. In response to the message, social-networking system 160 maycreate an edge (e.g., an “eat” edge) between a user node 202corresponding to the user and a concept node 204 corresponding to thethird-party webpage or resource and store edge 206 in one or more datastores.

In particular embodiments, a pair of nodes in social graph 200 may beconnected to each other by one or more edges 206. An edge 206 connectinga pair of nodes may represent a relationship between the pair of nodes.In particular embodiments, an edge 206 may include or represent one ormore data objects or attributes corresponding to the relationshipbetween a pair of nodes. As an example and not by way of limitation, afirst user may indicate that a second user is a “friend” of the firstuser. In response to this indication, social-networking system 160 maysend a “friend request” to the second user. If the second user confirmsthe “friend request,” social-networking system 160 may create an edge206 connecting the first user's user node 202 to the second user's usernode 202 in social graph 200 and store edge 206 as social-graphinformation in one or more of data stores 164. In the example of FIG. 2,social graph 200 includes an edge 206 indicating a friend relationbetween user nodes 202 of user “A” and user “B” and an edge indicating afriend relation between user nodes 202 of user “C” and user “B.”Although this disclosure describes or illustrates particular edges 206with particular attributes connecting particular user nodes 202, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable edges 206 with any suitableattributes connecting user nodes 202. As an example and not by way oflimitation, an edge 206 may represent a friendship, family relationship,business or employment relationship, fan relationship, followerrelationship, visitor relationship, subscriber relationship,superior/subordinate relationship, reciprocal relationship,non-reciprocal relationship, another suitable type of relationship, ortwo or more such relationships. Moreover, although this disclosuregenerally describes nodes as being connected, this disclosure alsodescribes users or concepts as being connected. Herein, references tousers or concepts being connected may, where appropriate, refer to thenodes corresponding to those users or concepts being connected in socialgraph 200 by one or more edges 206.

In particular embodiments, an edge 206 between a user node 202 and aconcept node 204 may represent a particular action or activity performedby a user associated with user node 202 toward a concept associated witha concept node 204. As an example and not by way of limitation, asillustrated in FIG. 2, a user may “like,” “attended,” “played,”“listened,” “cooked,” “worked at,” or “watched” a concept, each of whichmay correspond to a edge type or subtype. A concept-profile pagecorresponding to a concept node 204 may include, for example, aselectable “check in” icon (such as, for example, a clickable “check in”icon) or a selectable “add to favorites” icon. Similarly, after a userclicks these icons, social-networking system 160 may create a “favorite”edge or a “check in” edge in response to a user's action correspondingto a respective action. As another example and not by way of limitation,a user (user “C”) may listen to a particular song (“Imagine”) using aparticular application (SPOTIFY, which is an online music application).In this case, social-networking system 160 may create a “listened” edge206 and a “used” edge (as illustrated in FIG. 2) between user nodes 202corresponding to the user and concept nodes 204 corresponding to thesong and application to indicate that the user listened to the song andused the application. Moreover, social-networking system 160 may createa “played” edge 206 (as illustrated in FIG. 2) between concept nodes 204corresponding to the song and the application to indicate that theparticular song was played by the particular application. In this case,“played” edge 206 corresponds to an action performed by an externalapplication (SPOTIFY) on an external audio file (the song “Imagine”).Although this disclosure describes particular edges 206 with particularattributes connecting user nodes 202 and concept nodes 204, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable edges 206 with any suitableattributes connecting user nodes 202 and concept nodes 204. Moreover,although this disclosure describes edges between a user node 202 and aconcept node 204 representing a single relationship, this disclosurecontemplates edges between a user node 202 and a concept node 204representing one or more relationships. As an example and not by way oflimitation, an edge 206 may represent both that a user likes and hasused at a particular concept. Alternatively, another edge 206 mayrepresent each type of relationship (or multiples of a singlerelationship) between a user node 202 and a concept node 204 (asillustrated in FIG. 2 between user node 202 for user “E” and conceptnode 204 for “SPOTIFY”).

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may create anedge 206 between a user node 202 and a concept node 204 in social graph200. As an example and not by way of limitation, a user viewing aconcept-profile page (such as, for example, by using a web browser or aspecial-purpose application hosted by the user's client system 130) mayindicate that he or she likes the concept represented by the conceptnode 204 by clicking or selecting a “Like” icon, which may cause theuser's client system 130 to send to social-networking system 160 amessage indicating the user's liking of the concept associated with theconcept-profile page. In response to the message, social-networkingsystem 160 may create an edge 206 between user node 202 associated withthe user and concept node 204, as illustrated by “like” edge 206 betweenthe user and concept node 204. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may store an edge 206 in one or more datastores. In particular embodiments, an edge 206 may be automaticallyformed by social-networking system 160 in response to a particular useraction. As an example and not by way of limitation, if a first useruploads a picture, watches a movie, or listens to a song, an edge 206may be formed between user node 202 corresponding to the first user andconcept nodes 204 corresponding to those concepts. Although thisdisclosure describes forming particular edges 206 in particular manners,this disclosure contemplates forming any suitable edges 206 in anysuitable manner.

Social-Based Web Crawling

FIG. 3 illustrates web crawling by web-crawler 300 and social-networkingsystem 160. In particular embodiments, web-crawler 300 may be associatedwith a search engine of social-networking system 160. In particularembodiments, web-crawler 300 may crawl links corresponding to webpagesrespectively where each link to a webpage may be described by auniformed resource locator (URL) of the webpage. Herein, reference to alink to a webpage may encompass an URL of the webpage, or vice-versa,where appropriate. In particular embodiments, web-crawler 300 may takeas input links to one or more first webpages respectively. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, web-crawler 300 may receive Link A towebpage A for web crawling, where Link A may be shared by one or moreusers of social-networking system 160. In other words, a webpage sharedby a user of the online social network may be used as a seed to begincrawling webpages (although any suitable method may be used forselecting seed webpages to being crawling). In particular embodiments,web-crawler 300 may identify links to one or more second webpages thatare included within a first webpage as received for web crawling. As anexample and not by way of limitation, web-crawler 300 may identifywithin webpage A, Links B-E corresponding to webpages B-E. Thereafter,Links B-E may be sent from web-crawler 300 to social-networking system160 where social-networking system 160 may determine whether each ofwebpages B-E corresponding to Links B-E should be crawled. In particularembodiments, web-crawler 300 may crawl links to webpages of high-qualityweb domains. As an example and not by way of limitation,social-networking system 160 may determine that webpages B and Dcorresponding to Links B and D may be associated with one or morehigh-quality web domains. Thereafter, social-networking system 160 maysend Links B and D to web-crawler 300 for further crawling. As such,web-crawler 300 may follow Links B and D for further web crawling. Inparticular embodiments, web-crawler 300 of the search engine may avoidcrawling links to webpages of low-quality web domains. As an example andnot by way of limitation, social-networking system 160 may determinethat webpages C and E may be associated with one or more low-quality webdomains. As such, social-networking system 160 may not send Links C andE to web-crawler 300 for further web crawling. In particularembodiments, even if webpage E were determined by social-networking 160to be associated with a low-quality web domain, social-networking system160 may still send Link E to web-crawler 300. However web-crawler 300may not crawl any links within webpage E. As an example and not by wayof limitation, web-crawler 300 may not send any links identified withinwebpage E to social-networking system 160. Although this disclosurediscusses crawling webpages of the Internet, this disclosurecontemplates crawling any suitable content objects of the Internet, theDeep Web, suitable intranets, or other suitable networks.

In particular embodiments, web-crawler 300 may index content of eachwebpage. As an example and not by way of limitation, web-crawler 300 mayindex content of webpages A, B, and D. In particular embodiments,web-crawler 300 may access content of each webpage for retrieval by thesearch engine to be presented in search results. As an example and notby way of limitation, web-crawler 300 may access content of webpages A,B, and D for retrieval by the search engine to be presented in searchresults. In particular embodiments, one or more of webpages A-E mayinclude an internal webpage of social-networking system 160 and/or awebpage (for example, external webpage) operated by a third-party system170 external to social-networking system 160. Although this disclosuredescribes and illustrates particular steps of FIG. 3 as occurring in aparticular order, this disclosure contemplates any suitable steps ofFIG. 3 occurring in any suitable order. Furthermore, although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates particular components, devices,and/or systems carrying out particular steps of FIG. 3, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable combination of any suitable components,devices, and/or systems carrying out any suitable steps of FIG. 3.

In particular embodiments, a web domain may be a domain, a sub-domain,or a directory of a domain. As an example and not by way of limitation,a domain may be example.com. As another example and not by way oflimitation, a sub-domain of example.com may be news.example.com. As yetanother example and not by way of limitation, a directory of example.commay be example.com/news. In particular embodiments, the web domains ofwebpages A-E may include an internal web domain of social-networkingsystem 160 and/or a web domain (i.e., external web domain) of athird-party system 170 external to social-networking system 160. As anexample and not by way of limitation, an internal web domain ofsocial-networking system 160 may be facebook.com or facebook.com/help.As another example and not by way of limitation, an external web domainmay be cnn.com. In particular embodiments, a web domain of webpage A maybe the same as one or more web domains of webpages B-E. In particularembodiments, a web domain of webpage A may be different from web domainsof webpages B-E. Although the disclosure describes particular examplesof web domains, this disclosure contemplates any suitable web domains inany suitable manner.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may determinewhether a webpage should be crawled. As an example and not by way oflimitation, social-networking system 160 may determine whether webpageB, C, D, and/or E should be crawled. As another example and not by wayof limitation, social-networking system 160 may determine whetherwebpage B, C, D, and/or E should be sent to web-crawler 300. Inparticular embodiments, the determination by social-networking system160 may be based at least on a web domain of the webpage. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, social-networking system 160 may access adomain ranking for each web domain where the domain ranking may be basedat least on one or more domain-quality signals associated with the webdomain. In particular embodiments, one or more of the domain-qualitysignals may be provided by social-networking system 160. In particularembodiments, one or more of the domain-quality signals may be providedby third-party system 170 external to social-networking system 160. Inparticular embodiments, the domain ranking may indicate a quality of theweb domain. As such, a high-quality web domain has a domain rankinghigher than that of a low-quality web domain. As an example and not byway of limitation, the high-quality web domain may have a domain rankingabove a pre-determined threshold while the low-quality web domain mayhave a domain ranking below the pre-determined threshold. In particularembodiments, a high-quality web domain may include content that is atleast interesting, reliable, trending, fresh, and/or appealing. As such,the domain rankings may distinguish such high-quality web domains whosecontents are socially optimal for content retrieval as search results.Furthermore, the high-quality web domains may be prioritized for webcrawling. In particular embodiments, web-crawler 300 may focus its timeand resources on crawling through webpages of high-quality web domains.In contrast, web-crawler 300 may avoid crawling through webpages oflow-quality web domains. As an example and not by way of limitation,high-quality web domains may include CNN.com and wikipedia.com.Accordingly, these high-quality web domains may include one or moreinteresting webpages for web crawling and indexing. As another exampleand not by way of limitation, low-quality web domains may includefreeMD5.com. Accordingly, web-crawler 300 may avoid crawling through anywebpage of freeMD5.com. In particular embodiments, social-networkingsystem 160 may select one or more of webpages B-E to crawl based atleast on the domain rankings of the web domains associated with webpagesB-E. As an example and not by way of limitation, social-networkingsystem 160 may send webpages B and D for web crawling by web-crawler 300because the domain rankings of one or more web domains associated withwebpages B and D are above a pre-determined threshold. In contrast,social-networking system 160 may not send webpages C and E for webcrawling by web-crawler 300 because the domain rankings of one or moreweb domains associated with webpages C and E are below thepre-determined threshold.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may access adomain ranking for each web domain where the domain ranking may be basedat least on one or more domain-quality signals associated with the webdomain. In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 mayup-rank a web domain based at least on the domain-quality signalsassociated with the web domain. Herein, reference to up-ranking a webdomain may encompass increasing a domain ranking of the web domain, orvice-versa, where appropriate. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may down-rank a web domain based at leaston the domain-quality signals associated with the web domain. Herein,reference to down-ranking a web domain may encompass decreasing a domainranking of the web domain, or vice-versa, where appropriate. As anexample and not by way of limitation, a search engine ofsocial-networking system 160 may access a domain ranking for each webdomain of webpages B-E where the domain ranking may be based at least onone or more domain-quality signals associated with the web domain. Inparticular embodiments, one or more of the domain-quality signals may beprovided by social-networking system 160 and/or third-party system 170external to social-networking system 160. As an example and not by wayof limitation, a domain-quality signal of a web domain may be associatedwith a measure of activations of one or more social plug-ins of one ormore webpages of the web domain. In particular embodiments, the webdomain may be an external web domain operated by third-party system 170external to social-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, asocial plug-in of a webpage may be a comment dialog box, a like button,a share button, or any suitable combinations thereof within the webpage.In particular embodiments, the social plug-in may be provided bysocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, the socialplug-in may be provided by a third-party system 170 that is an affiliateof social-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, the measureof activations of the social plug-ins may include a measure of usage ofa social plug-in. As an example and not by way of limitation, themeasure of usage of the social plug-in may correspond to a number oftimes the social plug-in is rendered together with the rest of thewebpage by web browser 132. As another example and not by way oflimitation, the measure of usage of the social plug-in may correspond toa number of times the social plug-in is rendered together with the restof the webpage by client system 130. In particular embodiments, as thenumber of activations of social plug-ins of the web domain increases,the web domain may be up-ranked. In contrast, as the number ofactivations of social plug-ins of the web domain decreases, the webdomain may be down-ranked. Although this disclosure describes particularexamples of measuring particular activations of particular socialplug-ins of particular web domain, a domain-quality signal may beassociated with any suitable means to measure any suitable activationsof any suitable social plug-ins of any suitable web domain.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of impressions of one or more webpages ofthe web domain. The web domain may be an external web domain operated bythird-party system 170 external to social-networking system 160. Inparticular embodiments, the measure of impressions of a webpage of theweb domain may be retrieved via a social plug-in nested within thewebpage, where the social plug-in may be associated withsocial-networking system 160. As an example and not by way oflimitation, a like button may be rendered as a social plug-in next to anews article of the webpage, where the webpage may be displayed on webbrowser 132 of client system 130. A user of web browser 132 may indicatethat the content of the webpage (for example, the news article) isinteresting by clicking on the like button. Furthermore, the user mayapprove the content of the webpage by clicking on the like button. Assuch, by the user clicking on the like button, an impression may beregistered of the webpage by social-networking system 160. Byaggregating the number of times the like button is clicked when thewebpage is rendered, a measure of impressions corresponding to theaggregated number of times the like button is clicked may be retrievedby social-networking system 160. Accordingly, as more users clicked onthe like button, the number of impressions of the webpage increases. Asanother example and not by way of limitation, a comment dialog box maybe rendered as a social plug-in next to a video clip included within thewebpage, where the webpage may be displayed on web browser 132 of clientsystem 130. A user of web browser 132 may comment on the video clip bytyping texts within the comment dialog box. As such, by the userutilizing the comment dialog box, an impression may be registered of thewebpage by social-networking system 160. By aggregating the number oftimes users commented on the video clip, a measure of impressionscorresponding to the aggregated number of comments may be retrieved bysocial-networking system 160. As an example and not by way oflimitation, as more users commented on the video clip, the number ofimpressions of the webpage increases. In particular embodiments, thedomain-quality signal may be a measure of impressions as aggregatedacross one or more webpages of the web domain. As an example and not byway of limitation, the domain-quality signal may be a measure ofimpressions by summing the total number of impressions of all webpagesof the web domain based on the social plug-ins of all the webpages ofthe web domain. In particular embodiments, as the number of impressionsof one or more webpages of the web domain increases, the web domain maybe up-ranked. In contrast, as the number of impressions of the webpagesof the web domain decreases, the web domain may be down-ranked. Althoughthis disclosure describes particular examples of measuring particularimpressions of particular webpages based on particular social plug-ins,a domain-quality signal may be associated with any suitable means tomeasure any suitable impressions of any suitable webpages based on anysuitable social plug-ins.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of authoritativeness of the web domain. Theweb domain may be an external web domain operated by third-party system170 external to social-networking system 160. In particular embodiments,a domain provider of the web domain may partner with social-networkingsystem 160 to provide enriched and/or enhanced content for the webdomain. In particular embodiments, in addition to the enriched and/orenhanced content being provided from the domain provider, the domainprovider may provide pre-tagged information (for example, pre-taggedcontent) about particular characteristics of the web domain. Inparticular embodiments, the pre-tagged information may includecharacteristics associated with an author, a topic, and/or a sponsorshipof the enriched content of the web domain. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may regard the web domain as authoritativeby increasing the measure of authoritativeness of the web domain. Inparticular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may determine themeasure of authoritativeness of the web domain based at least on thepre-tagged information. As an example and not by way of limitation, adomain provider affiliated with social-networking system 160 may sponsora content of a web domain. As such, the web domain may providesponsorship information about the domain provider along with a webpageof the web domain as rendered. In particular embodiments, theaffiliation of the domain provider with social-networking system 160(based at least on the sponsorship information) may indicate tosocial-networking system 160 that the domain provider may be approvedand trusted by social-networking system 160, Accordingly,social-networking system 160 may utilize such sponsorship information toindicate that the web domain is authoritative. In particularembodiments, a web domain may be indicated by social-networking system160 as authoritative merely by an inclusion of pre-tagged informationwithin the webpages of the web domain. In particular embodiments, as themeasure of authoritativeness of the web domain increases, the web domainmay be up-ranked. In contrast, as the measure of authoritativeness ofthe web domain decreases, the web domain may be down-ranked. Althoughthis disclosure describes particular examples of measuring particularauthoritativeness of particular web domains based on particularpre-tagged information of the web domains, a domain-quality signal maybe associated with any suitable means to measure any suitableauthoritativeness based on any suitable pre-tagged information of anysuitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of engagement with a content of the webdomain. The content of the web domain may be posted on social-networkingsystem 160 and/or third-party system 170 external to social-networkingsystem 160. In particular embodiments, a user (for example, a user ofsocial-networking system 160) may engage the content of the web domainby performing one or more suitable actions associated with the contentsuch as, for example, liking, posting a comment, and/or sharing a linkof the content on social-networking system 160 and/or the third-partysystem 170. In particular embodiments, the content (for example, amovie) may correspond to a concept node 204, as discussed above. Inparticular embodiments, a number of users of social-networking system160 interacting with the content posted on social-networking system 160may indicated a measure of engagement with the posted content. As anexample and not by way of limitation, as more users provide theirfeedback on the posted content, the measure of engagement with theposted content increases, and vice-versa, where appropriate. Inparticular embodiments, as the measure of engagement of the web domainincreases, the web domain may be up-ranked. In contrast, as the measureof engagement of the web domain decreases, the web domain may bedown-ranked. Although this disclosure describes particular examples ofmeasuring particular engagement of particular web domains, adomain-quality signal may be associated with any suitable means tomeasure any suitable engagement of any suitable web domains. Moreinformation on tracking engagement with content of social-networkingsystem 160 may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/341,148,filed 25 Jul. 2014, which is incorporated by reference.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of site-integrity of the web domain. Anunreliable web domain may be associated with a low measure ofsite-integrity. As an example and not by way of limitation, web domainswhose links frequently expire (for example, the number of 404 errormessages that are returned for rendering one or more webpages of the webdomain is greater than a pre-determined threshold) may be indicated asunreliable. Accordingly, the unreliable web domains may be associatedwith low measures of site-integrity. As another example and not by wayof limitation, web domains associated with malware, spamming, and/orother undesirable content may be indicated as unreliable. As yet anotherexample and not by way of limitation, web domains that are black-listed(or gray-listed) by social-networking system 160 and/or by third-partysystem 170 external to social-networking system 160 may be indicated asunreliable. In particular embodiments, as the measure of site-integrityof the web domain increases, the web domain may be up-ranked. Incontrast, as the measure of site-integrity of the web domain decreases,the web domain may be down-ranked. Although this disclosure describesparticular examples of measuring particular site-integrities ofparticular web domains, a domain-quality signal may be associated withany suitable means to measure any suitable site-integrities of anysuitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of readability of the web domain.Furthermore, the measure of readability may be based on one or morelanguages utilized by one or more webpages of the web domain. Webdomains whose webpages are rendered in a commonly-spoken language may bemore readable, as compared to web domains whose webpages are rendered ina regional language. As an example and not by way of limitation,commonly-spoken languages may include Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Asanother example and not by way of limitation, regional languages mayinclude Arabic, Russian, and Japanese. In particular embodiments, webdomains whose webpages are rendered in a native language correspondingto a demographics of a user of the search engine may be more readable tothe user, as compared to web domains whose webpages are rendered in alanguage that is not commonly used by the user. In particularembodiments, as the measure of readability of the web domain increases,the web domain may be up-ranked. In contrast, as the measure ofreadability of the web domain decreases, the web domain may bedown-ranked. Although this disclosure describes particular examples ofmeasuring particular readability of particular web domains, adomain-quality signal may be associated with any suitable means tomeasure any suitable readability of any suitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of an average fetch-time for one or morewebpages of the web domain. Slower web domains whose average fetch-timesare higher than a pre-determined threshold may not be interesting tousers. Accordingly, the slower web domains may be down-ranked. Inparticular embodiments, web domains whose average fetch-times are higherthan a pre-determined threshold (for example, 3 secs) may indicate tosocial-networking system 160 that the web domains may not be of goodquality. As an example and not by way of limitation, high averagefetch-times (for example, average fetch-times that are higher than apre-determined threshold) of a web domain may indicate that hardwareresources (for example, servers, memory, cache, and/or centralprocessing units (CPUs)) that operate the web domain may be limited. Asanother example and not by way of limitation, high average fetch-times(for example, average fetch-times that are higher than a pre-determinedthreshold) of a web domain may indicate that the hardware resources maynot be able to meet the operating requirements of the web domain.Accordingly, web domains that are not of good quality may bedown-ranked. In particular embodiments, as the measure of averagefetch-times of the web domain increases, the web domain may bedown-ranked. In contrast, as the measure of average fetch-times of theweb domain decreases, the web domain may be up-ranked. Although thisdisclosure describes particular examples of measuring particular averagefetch-times of particular web domains, a domain-quality signal may beassociated with any suitable means to measure any suitable averagefetch-times of any suitable web domains. Moreover, although thisdisclosure describes particular pre-determined thresholds associatedwith particular average fetch-times of particular web domains, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable pre-determined thresholdsassociated with any suitable average fetch-times of any suitable webdomains in any suitable manners. In particular embodiments, apre-determined threshold associated with an average fetch-time of a webdomain may depend on a content type of the web domain. As an example andnot by way of limitation, a web domain whose webpages are substantiallymade up of video clips may have a higher pre-determined threshold than aweb domain whose webpages are substantially text-based.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of content age for one or more webpages ofthe web domain. A search engine may crawl web domains that provideupdated news-related content. As an example and not by way oflimitation, the search engine may crawl web domains whose content agefor one or more webpages of the web domain may be lower than apre-determined threshold (for example, 6 months). In particularembodiments, an indication of a content age for a webpage may beretrieved from the webpage. As an example and not by way of limitation,referencing a webpage that includes one or more social plug-ins, a timeat which a social plug-in of the webpage was first rendered may providean estimated time when the webpage was produced. As such, based on theprovided estimated time when the webpage was produced, social-networkingsystem 160 may determine a content age of the webpage. As anotherexample and not by way of limitation, the webpage may indicate apublished time of the webpage within a content of the webpage. Asanother example and not by way of limitation, social-networking system160 may sift through one or more URLs of the web domain to determine adata and/or time information for each webpage of the web domain. Inparticular embodiments, as the measure of content age for one or morewebpages of the web domain increases, the web domain may be down-ranked.In contrast, as the measure of content age for the webpages of the webdomain decreases, the web domain may be up-ranked. In particularembodiments, a web domain may provide “timeless” content. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, a web domain with “timeless” content mayinclude one or more webpages whose content age are substantially high.In particular embodiments, a web domain with “timeless” content may bean internet encyclopedia. As an example and not by way of limitation, aninternet encyclopedia may be wikipedia.com. In particular embodiments, aweb domain with “timeless” content may provide popular general referencework. As an example and not by way of limitation, a web domain thatprovides popular general reference work may be howstuffworks.com.Accordingly, web domains that provide “timeless” content may not bedown-ranked even though their content age are substantially high.Although this disclosure describes particular examples of measuringparticular content age of particular web domains, a domain-qualitysignal may be associated with any suitable means to measure any suitablecontent age of any suitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of topic relevance of a content of the webdomain. The measure of topic relevance may indicate, for example, alevel of interest from general users toward the content of the webdomain. As an example and not by way of limitation, the measure of topicrelevance may be proportional to the level of interest from the generalusers toward the content of the web domain. In particular embodiments,the measure of topic relevance may indicate whether the content of theweb domain is well-received by a user of the search engine. As anexample and not by way of limitation, the measure of topic relevance maybe proportional to a probability or likelihood that the content of theweb domain may be well-received by the user of the search engine. Inparticular embodiments, the measure of topic relevance may indicatewhether the content of the web domain is trending. As an example and notby way of limitation, the web domain may include one or more webpagesthat are associated with trending content. Accordingly, the measure oftopic relevance may be proportional to a number of webpages of the webdomain that include trending content. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may analyze a content of each webpage ofthe web domain to determine a measure of topic relevance associated withthe content of the webpage. As an example and not by way of limitation,social-networking system 160 may analyze one or more of a text and acomment as posted of the content within the webpage to determine a topicrelevance for the content. As another example and not by way oflimitation, social-networking system 160 may utilize one or moretopic-based tags of the content to determine a particular topicrelevance for the content. In particular embodiments, as the measure oftopic relevance of the content of the web domain increases, the webdomain may be up-ranked. In contrast, as the measure of topic relevanceof the content of the web domain decreases, the web domain may bedown-ranked. Although this disclosure describes particular examples ofmeasuring particular topic relevance of particular content of particularweb domains, a domain-quality signal may be associated with any suitablemeans to measure any suitable topic relevance of any suitable content ofany suitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, a domain-quality signal of a web domain maybe associated with a measure of public sharing of a content of the webdomain compared to a measure of private sharing of the content of theweb domain. Particular web domains may be associated with private userengagements as indicated by the measure of private sharing of thecontent of the web domains. As an example and not by way of limitation,private user engagements may include communications among users ofsocial-networking system 160 via one or more private messages. Asanother example and not by way of limitation, the measure of privatesharing may increase as more users engage the content privately. Inparticular embodiments, web domains that are associated with privateuser engagements may be down-ranked for including content that may notbe shared with other users publicly. As an example and not by way oflimitation, web domains whose content are substantially privatelycommunicated may be down-ranked. In particular embodiments, particularweb domains may be associated with public user engagements as indicatedby the measure of public sharing of the content of the web domains. Asan example and not by way of limitation, such web domains may includecontent that are engaged by users publicly (for example, users mayshare, like, post, and/or comment the content with other users viasocial-networking system 160). As another example and not by way oflimitation, the measure of public sharing may increase as more usersengage the content publicly. In particular embodiments, web domains thatare associated with public user engagements may be up-ranked forincluding content that may be shared with other users publicly. Inparticular embodiments, the measures of private and public sharing ofthe content of the web domain may be determined by social-networkingsystem 160. As an example and not by way of limitation,social-networking system 160 may continuously monitor users' actionscorresponding to one or more webpages of the web domain onsocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments,social-networking system 160 may examine whether links to the webpagesof the web domains are shared via one or more newsfeeds or via privatemessages between users of social-networking system 160. In particularembodiments, as the measure of private sharing of the content of the webdomain increases relative to the measure of public sharing of thecontent of the web domain, the web domain may be down-ranked. Incontrast, as the measure of private sharing of the content of the webdomain decreases relative to the measure of public sharing of thecontent of the web domain, the web domain may be up-ranked. Althoughthis disclosure describes particular examples of measuring particularprivate sharing and particular public sharing of particular content ofparticular web domains, a domain-quality signal may be associated withany suitable means to measure any suitable combinations of any suitableprivate sharing and any suitable public sharing of any suitable contentof any suitable web domains.

In particular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may determine adomain ranking for a web domain. As an example and not by way oflimitation, social-networking system 160 may determine the domainranking for the web domain based at least on one or more domain-qualitysignals associated with the web domain, as discussed above. Inparticular embodiments, social-networking system 160 may utilize amachine-learning (ML) algorithm to determine the domain ranking for theweb domain. In particular embodiments, the ML algorithm may take asinputs one or more of the domain-quality signals of the web domain asprovided by social-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, theML algorithm may also take as input a historical ranking data associatedwith one or more previously-ranked web pages of the web domain. Thepreviously-ranked web pages may be manually determined or determined bysocial-networking system 160. Although this disclosure describesparticular examples of determining particular domain ranking forparticular web domain based on particular domain-quality signals of theweb domain, this disclosure contemplates any suitable examples ofdetermining any suitable domain ranking for any suitable web domainbased on any suitable domain-quality signals of the web domain.

FIG. 4A illustrates historical ranking data 400 for web crawling of FIG.3. In particular embodiments, historical ranking data 400 may includepage rankings corresponding to webpages, respectively. As an example andnot by way of limitation, historical ranking data 400 may includePage_ranking_([1 . . . N]) for Page_[1 . . . N] (i.e. webpages)respectively. In particular embodiments, the webpages may be associatedwith one or more web domains. In particular embodiments, the webpagesmay include webpages that have previously been ranked based on one ormore domain-quality signals. As an example and not by way of limitation,one or more of the webpages may be manually ranked based on thedomain-quality signals. As another example and not by way of limitation,one or more of the webpages may be ranked by social-networking system160 based on a pre-determined algorithm taking as inputs values to thedomain-quality signals. As yet another example and not by way oflimitation, historical ranking data 400 may provide Page_ranking foreach Page based on Signal_[1 . . . k]. Accordingly, a Page_ranking maybe determined for each Page based at least on value(1 . . . k)corresponding to Signal_[1 . . . k] respectively. Furthermore,Page_ranking_([1 . . . N]) may be determined for Page_[1 . . . N] basedat least on value_([1 . . . N])(1 . . . k) corresponding to Signal_[1 .. . k] of Page_[1 . . . N]. In particular embodiments, Signal_[1 . . .k] may correspond to the domain-quality signals for one or more webdomains of Page_[1 . . . N], as discussed above. In particularembodiments, each Page_[1 . . . N] may be represented by an URL to thewebpage. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates historicalranking data 400 for particular web crawling, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable historical ranking data for any suitable webcrawling in any suitable manner.

FIG. 4B illustrates domain ranking table 402 for web crawling of FIG. 3.In particular embodiments, domain ranking table 402 may be utilized bysocial-networking system 160 to determine a domain ranking for each webdomain. In particular embodiments, each web domain may be ranked basedat least on one or more domain-quality signals of the web domain. As anexample and not by way of limitation, a Domain_ranking_([1 . . . M]) maybe determined for each Domain_[1 . . . M] (i.e. web domain) based onvalue(1 . . . k) corresponding to Signal_[1 . . . k] respectively. Inparticular embodiment, Signal_[1 . . . k] may correspond to one or moreof the domain-quality signals for Domain_[1 . . . M]. Furthermore,Domain_ranking_([1 . . . M]) may be provided for Domain_[1 . . . M]based on value_([1 . . . M])(1 . . . k) corresponding to Signal_[1 . . .k] for Domain_[1 . . . M]. In particular embodiments, social-networkingsystem 160 may utilize a ML algorithm to determine eachDomain_ranking_([1 . . . M]) where the ML algorithm takes as inputs oneor more of value(1 . . . k) corresponding to Signal_[1 . . . k] for eachDomain_[1 . . . M]. In particular embodiments, value_([1 . . . M])(1 . .. k) may be provided by social-networking system 160. In particularembodiments, in addition to value_([1 . . . M])(1 . . . k),social-networking system 160 may also consider historical ranking data400 as an input to the ML algorithm. Accordingly, along with thedomain-quality signals, the ML algorithm may consider one or morepreviously-ranked webpages of a web domain when determining a domainranking for the web domain. As an example and not by way of limitation,referencing FIGS. 4A-B, in order to determine a Domain_ranking for eachDomain_[1 . . . N], the ML algorithm may consider one or morePage_ranking[1 . . . N] corresponding to one or more Page_[1 . . . N] ofthe Domain_[1 . . . M] as an input. In particular embodiments, thescales associated with Page_ranking_([1 . . . M]) andDomain_ranking_([1 . . . M]) may be different. Although this disclosuredescribes and illustrates domain ranking table 402 for particular webcrawling, this disclosure contemplates any suitable domain ranking tablefor any suitable web crawling in any suitable manner.

FIG. 5 illustrates method 500 for web crawling. In particularembodiments, method 500 may be associated with social-networking system160. As an example and not by way of limitation, method 500 may utilizedata of social-networking system 160. As another example and not by wayof limitation, method 500 may be operated by one or more servers 162 ofsocial-networking system 160. In particular embodiments, the one or moreservers 162 may include one or more web-crawlers 300. At step 510 ofmethod 500, a search engine of an online social network may crawl afirst webpage of a first web domain. Furthermore, the first webpage mayinclude one or more links to one or more second webpages, where eachsecond webpage may be within a second web domain. As an example and notby way of limitation, referencing FIG. 3, web-crawler 300 of the searchengine may crawl Link A to webpage A. In particular embodiments, webpageA may be associated with the first web domain. Furthermore, webpage Amay include Links B-E corresponding to webpages B-E (i.e. secondwebpages) respectively. In particular embodiments, webpages B-E may beassociated with one or more second web domains different from the firstweb domain of webpage A. In particular embodiments, each of the secondweb domains of webpages B-E may be different. As another example and notby way of limitation, referencing FIG. 3, web-crawler 300 may sendwebpages B-E to social-networking system 160 where social-networkingsystem 160 may determine whether each of webpages B-E should be crawled.At step 520 of method 500, a domain ranking may be accessed for eachsecond web domain. In particular embodiments, for each second webdomain, the domain ranking may be based at least on one or moredomain-quality signals associated with the second web domain. Inparticular embodiments, at least one of the domain-quality signals maycomprise a measure of activations of one or more social plug-ins of theonline social network associated with one or more webpages of the secondweb domain. As an example and not by way of limitation, referencing FIG.4B, social-networking system 160 may utilize domain ranking table 402 toaccess a domain ranking for each of the second web domain. Furthermore,Domain_ranking for each Domain_[1 . . . M] (i.e. second web domain) maybe determined based on value(1 . . . k) corresponding to Signal_[1 . . .k] (i.e. domain-quality signals) of each Domain_[1 . . . M]. As yetanother example and not by way of limitation, referencing FIG. 3,social-networking system 160 may access a domain ranking for each of thesecond web domains associated with webpages B-E. As another example andnot by way of limitation, referencing FIG. 4B, one of Signal(1 . . . k)may correspond to a measure of activations of one or more socialplug-ins of social-networking system 160 associated with one or more webpages of each Domain_[1 . . . M] (i.e. second web domains of webpagesB-E), as discussed above. In particular embodiments, for each second webdomain, the domain ranking may be based at least on a historical rankingdata associated with the second web domain. As an example and not by wayof limitation, referencing FIG. 4A, social-networking system 160 mayaccess historical ranking data 400 to consider previously-rankedwebpages (for example, Page_ranking_([1 . . . N]) of Page_[1 . . . N])of each second web domain as an input to a ML algorithm for determiningthe domain-ranking of the second web domain. At step 530 of method 500,one or more of the second webpages may be selected for crawling based atleast in part on the domain rankings of the second web domainsassociated with the second webpages. As an example and not by way oflimitation, referencing FIG. 3, social-networking system 160 may selectone or more of webpages B-E for crawling based at least in part on thedomain rankings of the second web domains associated with webpages B-E.As another example and not by way of limitation, referencing FIG. 3, thedomain rankings of second web domains associated with webpages B and Dmay be higher than a pre-determined threshold. As such, webpages B and Dmay be associated with high-quality web domains, as discussed above.Accordingly, social-networking system 160 may select webpages B and Dfor further web crawling. As yet another example and not by way oflimitation, referencing FIG. 3, the domain rankings of second webdomains associated with webpages C and E may be lower than thepre-determined threshold. As such, webpages C and E may be associatedwith low-quality web domains, as discussed above. Accordingly,social-networking system 160 may not select webpages C and E for furtherweb crawling. In particular embodiments, the order in which the secondwebpages are crawled may be determined by the domain rankings of thesecond web domains associated with the second webpages. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, webpage B may be associated with a higherdomain ranking than webpage D. Accordingly, webpage B may be crawledbefore webpage D. At step 540 of method 500, the search engine may crawleach selected second webpage. As an example and not by way oflimitation, referencing FIG. 3, social-networking system 160 may send toweb-crawler 300 selected webpages B and D for further web crawling. Inparticular embodiments, the search engine of social-networking system160 may send one or more of the web-crawlers 300 to one or more of theselected second webpages, where each web-crawler 300 receives at leastone of the selected second webpages from the search engine for webcrawling. As such, the web-crawlers 300 may substantially crawl theselected second webpages in parallel. In particular embodiments, eachweb-crawler 300 may prioritize the selected second webpages as receivedfrom the search engine for web crawling. As an example and not by way oflimitation, referencing FIG. 3, social-networking system may include twoweb-crawlers 300A-B associated with two servers 162 respectively. Thesearch engine may send webpages B and D, whose domain rankings arehigher than the pre-determined threshold, to web-crawlers 300A-B for webcrawling respectively. The search engine may also send webpages C and E,whose domain rankings are lower than the pre-determined threshold, toweb-crawlers 300A-B for web crawling respectively. Thereafter,web-crawler 300A-B may prioritize crawling webpages B and D overwebpages C and E. As an example and not by way of limitation, webpages Band D may be placed in highest priority slots (for example, top ofqueues) of servers 162 associated with web-crawlers 300A-B for webcrawling. In particular embodiments, the search engine may index andaccess content of each selected second webpage for future retrieval inone or more search results of the search engine. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates particular steps of method 500 ofFIG. 5 as occurring in a particular order, this disclosure contemplatesany suitable steps of method 500 of FIG. 5 occurring in any suitableorder. Moreover, although this disclosure describes and illustrates anexample method for web crawling associated with an online social networkincluding the particular steps of method 500 of FIG. 5, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable method for web crawling associated with anysuitable online social network including any suitable steps, which mayinclude all, some, or none of the steps of method 500 of FIG. 5, whereappropriate. Furthermore, although this disclosure describes andillustrates particular components, devices, or systems carrying outparticular steps of method 500 of FIG. 5, this disclosure contemplatesany suitable combination of any suitable components, devices, or systemscarrying out any suitable steps of method 500 of FIG. 5.

Systems and Methods

FIG. 6 illustrates an example computer system 600. In particularembodiments, one or more computer systems 600 perform one or more stepsof one or more methods described or illustrated herein. In particularembodiments, one or more computer systems 600 provide functionalitydescribed or illustrated herein. In particular embodiments, softwarerunning on one or more computer systems 600 performs one or more stepsof one or more methods described or illustrated herein or providesfunctionality described or illustrated herein. Particular embodimentsinclude one or more portions of one or more computer systems 600.Herein, reference to a computer system may encompass a computing device,and vice versa, where appropriate. Moreover, reference to a computersystem may encompass one or more computer systems, where appropriate.

This disclosure contemplates any suitable number of computer systems600. This disclosure contemplates computer system 600 taking anysuitable physical form. As example and not by way of limitation,computer system 600 may be an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip(SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) (such as, for example, acomputer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), a desktop computersystem, a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, amainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a server, a tablet computer system, or acombination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, computer system600 may include one or more computer systems 600; be unitary ordistributed; span multiple locations; span multiple machines; spanmultiple data centers; or reside in a cloud, which may include one ormore cloud components in one or more networks. Where appropriate, one ormore computer systems 600 may perform without substantial spatial ortemporal limitation one or more steps of one or more methods describedor illustrated herein. As an example and not by way of limitation, oneor more computer systems 600 may perform in real time or in batch modeone or more steps of one or more methods described or illustratedherein. One or more computer systems 600 may perform at different timesor at different locations one or more steps of one or more methodsdescribed or illustrated herein, where appropriate.

In particular embodiments, computer system 600 includes a processor 602,memory 604, storage 606, an input/output (I/O) interface 608, acommunication interface 610, and a bus 612. Although this disclosuredescribes and illustrates a particular computer system having aparticular number of particular components in a particular arrangement,this disclosure contemplates any suitable computer system having anysuitable number of any suitable components in any suitable arrangement.

In particular embodiments, processor 602 includes hardware for executinginstructions, such as those making up a computer program. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, to execute instructions, processor 602 mayretrieve (or fetch) the instructions from an internal register, aninternal cache, memory 604, or storage 606; decode and execute them; andthen write one or more results to an internal register, an internalcache, memory 604, or storage 606. In particular embodiments, processor602 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, oraddresses. This disclosure contemplates processor 602 including anysuitable number of any suitable internal caches, where appropriate. Asan example and not by way of limitation, processor 602 may include oneor more instruction caches, one or more data caches, and one or moretranslation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in the instructioncaches may be copies of instructions in memory 604 or storage 606, andthe instruction caches may speed up retrieval of those instructions byprocessor 602. Data in the data caches may be copies of data in memory604 or storage 606 for instructions executing at processor 602 tooperate on; the results of previous instructions executed at processor602 for access by subsequent instructions executing at processor 602 orfor writing to memory 604 or storage 606; or other suitable data. Thedata caches may speed up read or write operations by processor 602. TheTLBs may speed up virtual-address translation for processor 602. Inparticular embodiments, processor 602 may include one or more internalregisters for data, instructions, or addresses. This disclosurecontemplates processor 602 including any suitable number of any suitableinternal registers, where appropriate. Where appropriate, processor 602may include one or more arithmetic logic units (ALUs); be a multi-coreprocessor; or include one or more processors 602. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular processor, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable processor.

In particular embodiments, memory 604 includes main memory for storinginstructions for processor 602 to execute or data for processor 602 tooperate on. As an example and not by way of limitation, computer system600 may load instructions from storage 606 or another source (such as,for example, another computer system 600) to memory 604. Processor 602may then load the instructions from memory 604 to an internal registeror internal cache. To execute the instructions, processor 602 mayretrieve the instructions from the internal register or internal cacheand decode them. During or after execution of the instructions,processor 602 may write one or more results (which may be intermediateor final results) to the internal register or internal cache. Processor602 may then write one or more of those results to memory 604. Inparticular embodiments, processor 602 executes only instructions in oneor more internal registers or internal caches or in memory 604 (asopposed to storage 606 or elsewhere) and operates only on data in one ormore internal registers or internal caches or in memory 604 (as opposedto storage 606 or elsewhere). One or more memory buses (which may eachinclude an address bus and a data bus) may couple processor 602 tomemory 604. Bus 612 may include one or more memory buses, as describedbelow. In particular embodiments, one or more memory management units(MMUs) reside between processor 602 and memory 604 and facilitateaccesses to memory 604 requested by processor 602. In particularembodiments, memory 604 includes random access memory (RAM). This RAMmay be volatile memory, where appropriate, this RAM may be dynamic RAM(DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM). Moreover, where appropriate, this RAM maybe single-ported or multi-ported RAM. This disclosure contemplates anysuitable RAM. Memory 604 may include one or more memories 604, whereappropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustratesparticular memory, this disclosure contemplates any suitable memory.

In particular embodiments, storage 606 includes mass storage for data orinstructions. As an example and not by way of limitation, storage 606may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, magnetic tape, or a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) drive or a combination of two or more of these. Storage606 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media, whereappropriate. Storage 606 may be internal or external to computer system600, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, storage 606 isnon-volatile, solid-state memory. In particular embodiments, storage 606includes read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM may bemask-programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM),electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM),or flash memory or a combination of two or more of these. Thisdisclosure contemplates mass storage 606 taking any suitable physicalform. Storage 606 may include one or more storage control unitsfacilitating communication between processor 602 and storage 606, whereappropriate. Where appropriate, storage 606 may include one or morestorages 606. Although this disclosure describes and illustratesparticular storage, this disclosure contemplates any suitable storage.

In particular embodiments, I/O interface 608 includes hardware,software, or both, providing one or more interfaces for communicationbetween computer system 600 and one or more I/O devices. Computer system600 may include one or more of these I/O devices, where appropriate. Oneor more of these I/O devices may enable communication between a personand computer system 600. As an example and not by way of limitation, anI/O device may include a keyboard, keypad, microphone, monitor, mouse,printer, scanner, speaker, still camera, stylus, tablet, touch screen,trackball, video camera, another suitable I/O device or a combination oftwo or more of these. An I/O device may include one or more sensors.This disclosure contemplates any suitable I/O devices and any suitableI/O interfaces 608 for them. Where appropriate, I/O interface 608 mayinclude one or more device or software drivers enabling processor 602 todrive one or more of these I/O devices. I/O interface 608 may includeone or more I/O interfaces 608, where appropriate. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular I/O interface, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable I/O interface.

In particular embodiments, communication interface 610 includeshardware, software, or both providing one or more interfaces forcommunication (such as, for example, packet-based communication) betweencomputer system 600 and one or more other computer systems 600 or one ormore networks. As an example and not by way of limitation, communicationinterface 610 may include a network interface controller (NIC) ornetwork adapter for communicating with an Ethernet or other wire-basednetwork or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or wireless adapter for communicatingwith a wireless network, such as a WI-FI network. This disclosurecontemplates any suitable network and any suitable communicationinterface 610 for it. As an example and not by way of limitation,computer system 600 may communicate with an ad hoc network, a personalarea network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), or one or more portions of theInternet or a combination of two or more of these. One or more portionsof one or more of these networks may be wired or wireless. As anexample, computer system 600 may communicate with a wireless PAN (WPAN)(such as, for example, a BLUETOOTH WPAN), a WI-FI network, a WI-MAXnetwork, a cellular telephone network (such as, for example, a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) network), or other suitablewireless network or a combination of two or more of these. Computersystem 600 may include any suitable communication interface 610 for anyof these networks, where appropriate. Communication interface 610 mayinclude one or more communication interfaces 610, where appropriate.Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particularcommunication interface, this disclosure contemplates any suitablecommunication interface.

In particular embodiments, bus 612 includes hardware, software, or bothcoupling components of computer system 600 to each other. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, bus 612 may include an AcceleratedGraphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry StandardArchitecture (EISA) bus, a front-side bus (FSB), a HYPERTRANSPORT (HT)interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an INFINIBANDinterconnect, a low-pin-count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Micro ChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, aPCI-Express (PCIe) bus, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association local (VLB) bus, oranother suitable bus or a combination of two or more of these. Bus 612may include one or more buses 612, where appropriate. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular bus, this disclosurecontemplates any suitable bus or interconnect.

Herein, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium or media mayinclude one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits(ICs) (such, as for example, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) orapplication-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid harddrives (HHDs), optical discs, optical disc drives (ODDs),magneto-optical discs, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppydisk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs),RAM-drives, SECURE DIGITAL cards or drives, any other suitablecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media, or any suitablecombination of two or more of these, where appropriate. Acomputer-readable non-transitory storage medium may be volatile,non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, whereappropriate.

MISCELLANEOUS

Herein, “or” is inclusive and not exclusive, unless expressly indicatedotherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Therefore, herein, “A or B”means “A, B, or both,” unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicatedotherwise by context. Moreover, “and” is both joint and several, unlessexpressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.Therefore, herein, “A and B” means “A and B, jointly or severally,”unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.

The scope of this disclosure encompasses all changes, substitutions,variations, alterations, and modifications to the example embodimentsdescribed or illustrated herein that a person having ordinary skill inthe art would comprehend. The scope of this disclosure is not limited tothe example embodiments described or illustrated herein. Moreover,although this disclosure describes and illustrates respectiveembodiments herein as including particular components, elements,feature, functions, operations, or steps, any of these embodiments mayinclude any combination or permutation of any of the components,elements, features, functions, operations, or steps described orillustrated anywhere herein that a person having ordinary skill in theart would comprehend. Furthermore, reference in the appended claims toan apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system beingadapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, enabled to, operableto, or operative to perform a particular function encompasses thatapparatus, system, component, whether or not it or that particularfunction is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as thatapparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable,configured, enabled, operable, or operative.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising, by one or more computingdevices of an online social network: identifying, by a web crawler ofthe online social network, a plurality of web domains external to theonline social network, wherein the plurality of web domains areidentified from links shared by one or more users of the online socialnetwork; accessing, by the one or more computing systems of the onlinesocial network from a data store of the online social network, one ormore domain-quality signals associated with each web domain of theplurality of web domains, wherein at least one of the domain-qualitysignals comprises a measure of activations of one or more socialplug-ins of the online social network available on one or more webpagesof the web domain, the social plug-in being an executable scriptproviding an activatable user-interface element for interacting with theonline social network from the webpage of the web domain; calculating,by the one or more computing systems of the online social network, foreach web domain of the plurality of web domains, a domain ranking basedat least in part on the domain-quality signals associated with the webdomain; and identifying, by the web crawler of the online socialnetwork, one or more of the web domains as low-quality web domains toavoid accessing by the online social network, each low-quality webdomain being identified based at least in part on the domain rankings ofthe respective web domains not satisfying a threshold domain ranking. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising excluding content from theidentified low-quality web domains from a communication channel of theonline social network.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingexcluding content from the identified low-quality web domains from asearch-results page.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingexcluding webpages from the identified low-quality web domains fromassociation with trending content.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of web domains are identified by a crawler of the searchengine.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the domain ranking for eachweb domain is calculated at least in part based on a machine-learningalgorithm, the machine-learning algorithm taking as inputs at least thedomain-quality signals associated with the web domain and historicalranking data of the web domain.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thehistorical ranking data for each web domain comprises one or moreuser-determined rankings for one or more webpages of the web domain. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein the measure of activations of the one ormore social plug-ins of the online social network comprises a measure ofuses of the social plug-in to comment, like, or share content of the webdomain.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of thedomain-quality signals comprises a measure of impressions of one or morewebpages of the web domain on users of the online social network. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the measure of impressions for eachwebpage of the web domain is measured via a social plug-in of the onlinesocial network available on the webpage.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one of the domain-quality signals comprises a measureof authoritativeness of the web domain based at least in part onpre-tagged content provided by a domain provider of the web domain. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the domain-qualitysignals comprises a measure of engagement with content associated withthe web domain on the online social network.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one of the domain-quality signals comprises a measureof site-integrity of the web domain.
 14. The method of claim 1, where atleast one of the domain-quality signals is determined by one or morelanguages used on the webpages of the web domain.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the domain-quality signals comprises ameasure of content age for webpages of the web domain.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the domain-quality signals comprises ameasure of topic relevance associated with content of the web domain.17. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the domain-qualitysignals comprises a level of public sharing of content of the web domaincompared to a level of private sharing of the content of the web domain.18. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodyingsoftware that is operable when executed to: identify, by a web crawlerof an online social network, a plurality of web domains external to theonline social network, wherein the plurality of web domains areidentified from links shared by one or more users of the online socialnetwork; access, by one or more computing systems of the online socialnetwork from a data store of the online social network, one or moredomain-quality signals associated with each web domain of the pluralityof web domains, wherein at least one of the domain-quality signalscomprises a measure of activations of one or more social plug-ins of theonline social network available on one or more webpages of the webdomain, the social plug-in being an executable script providing anactivatable user-interface element for interacting with the onlinesocial network from the webpage of the web domain; calculate, by the oneor more computing systems of the online social network, for each webdomain of the plurality of web domains, a domain ranking based at leastin part on the domain-quality signals associated with the web domain;and identify, by the web crawler of the online social network, one ormore of the web domains as low-quality web domains to avoid accessing bythe online social network, each low-quality web domain being identifiedbased at least in part on the domain rankings of the respective webdomains not satisfying a threshold domain ranking.
 19. A systemcomprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to theprocessors comprising instructions executable by the processors, theprocessors operable when executing the instructions to: identify, by aweb crawler of an online social network, a plurality of web domainsexternal to the online social network, wherein the plurality of webdomains are identified from links shared by one or more users of theonline social network; access, by one or more computing systems of theonline social network from a data store of the online social network,one or more domain-quality signals associated with each web domain ofthe plurality of web domains, wherein at least one of the domain-qualitysignals comprises a measure of activations of one or more socialplug-ins of the online social network available on one or more webpagesof the web domain, the social plug-in being an executable scriptproviding an activatable user-interface element for interacting with theonline social network from the webpage of the web domain; calculate, bythe one or more computing systems of the online social network, for eachweb domain of the plurality of web domains, a domain ranking based atleast in part on the domain-quality signals associated with the webdomain; and identify, by the web crawler of the online social network,one or more of the web domains as low-quality web domains to avoidaccessing by the online social network, each low-quality web domainbeing identified based at least in part on the domain rankings of therespective web domains not satisfying a threshold domain ranking.